In the morning, Ciel was gone. I slowly slinked off of the bed and finally touched the floor with my toes, releasing my tight grip on the bed sheets, and waddled downstairs in my night shirt. I paraded down the long hallways without a hint of where to go. I passed an older gentleman pushing a cart topped with empty dishes and cups. He stopped when he saw me and smiled lightly, watching as I turned the corner. As a neared a polished wooden door, I could catch a few words hear and there. I stopped in my tracks and listened more closely. Then I bent down and squinted under the door. I saw two pairs of shoes. There was some chuckling, and then one person hushed the other. Their feet stood still, and one pair walked toward the doorway. I stumbled getting up, and rushed down the nearest flight of stairs.

I was halfway to the floor when I noticed Ciel and Elizabeth. They were smiling at each other and giggling, their cheeks flushed with childish glee. I stared at them with my hand on the railing. Elizabeth picked up the ark they were playing with and reached her hand inside and pulled out two zebras that were in a pair; conjoined at the hip for the sake of not losing it.

"Look, Ciel." she said, showing him. "The zebras come on the ark in a pair,"

"Just like the elephants," Ciel giggled, holding up another toy and holding it next to the zebras.

"Yeah!" she agreed. "Noah gathered all of the animals in groups of two. A girl and a boy. After the flood was over and storm calmed, the elephants and the zebras got of the ark and had a families. And those families had families. Thats why there are so many of those animals today."

Ciel held the elephants close to his heart. "...Storm?"

Elizabeth, shocked, took the toy from him. "...There was a big storm that came. The elephants love was put in danger. They almost couldn't start a family. Then..."

She picked up and ark, placing the animals back inside, and glanced up at me.

"...the elephants' lives would cease to exist."

As the carriage driver escorted me to the wagon, I swung my tiny latched pouch at my side. Ciel ran out of the front door without closing it, and Elizabeth was dragging behind. I turned and saw the boy, who stopped abruptly when our eyes met. I hesitated, and dropped my bag on the cold dirt. He held out his hand. I took a hold of his small fingers and shook. Elizabeth's face shied away when I glanced at her, so I climbed into the carriage and left the Town House wordless.

"Tourists are already awaiting the completion of this building, Mr. Abadie," a director eagerly informed us. "Shouldn't we speed up the process? It's already been 9 years." his voice was hollow and quivering. My mother held my wrist in her red glove. The heels of our boots clicked speedily against the gravel and unwanted debris as we picked up our pace, dodging workers toting large amounts of polished stone and wood. She looked at the man, then proceeded to speak for my father.

"Do not worry, Mr... ah," she chuckled, "what did you say your name was again?"

"-Edmond." I spoke up drowsily. The man looked at me with glowing, thankful eyes.

"Yes, Edmond. We're very sure the Basilica will be finished shortly." My mother flipped her brown hair over her shoulder that draped down her mint coat like flowing streams of chocolate sauce. Her mouth formed a tight-pressed smile.

I stood in the center of the chapel. It was the first to be completed. My father strolled in and came next to me, facing up in the same way.

"The lord doesn't say much."

"Is that what you've been waiting for?"

"Yeah."

We didn't talk for a few minutes.

"Did you get along with Ciel?"

"Yeah."

"What about that girl?"

"What girl?"

My father looked at me skeptically, and I stared back in apathy. The lord's arms were outstretched in his long robe, like he was embracing the ceiling.

"Why did you make me visit Ciel if we live in Paris? He's so far away."

"It's only a few hours by train."

"...And I guess we have that vacation house in London." I thought out loud.

"Yes, and we have the vacation house."

I scrunched up my face anyway.

"This isn't the time," he sighed. "Meet us back at the carriage. we have a train to catch."

His heavy footsteps lingered in the cool open air wafting from the drafts in the unfinished construction.

I rubbed my hands together, then held them out, imitating the holy figure suspended on my wall above my head.

"There's someone I need to protect. If I hold my hands like this," I mumbled, my eyes half-lidded."could I be a savior, too?"

That night, I watched the full moon from my window, frozen in the unheated home on the floor. My bed called for me at the other side of the room, but I ignored it. My mother soon came in wearing a long fur coat, pristine white and barely reaching her ankles. She was going out.

"To bed." she croaked. I wobbled up and crawled under the sheets as she pursed her red lips and shut the door.